Daily Leadership Thoughts from Ed Robinson

Daily Leadership Thought #128 – Establish Healthy Boundaries, Then Be Disciplined About It

Most of this unhappiness, conflict and stress I see in the workplace and life these days comes down to an inability to establish healthy boundaries. By their very nature boundaries define us and indicate what are willing and not willing to tolerate. They are also a means to carve out what is important to us. Without boundaries you are simply making it up as you go along and dealing with life reactively without a compass.

Daily Leadership Thought #179 – Create Your Own Destiny

Courage still matters in business and in life. Many of us avoid the difficult decisions or talk ourselves out of taking risks. We strive for comfort where only pain and discomfort exists. It’s better to bet on yourself and your business and accept the consequences then to live in someone else’s shadow or become another fish in the pond of mediocrity.

Daily Leadership Thought #94 – George Washington: The Man Who Wouldn’t Be King

George Washington truly was a great man. His leadership character will be etched in the annals of history books forever. There is much to study and learn from the man and his actions (or lack thereof). Up until that point in human history, no individual had ever walked away (he did it more than once by the way) from such power and influence.

Daily Leadership Thought #139 – When You Commit – Fully Commit!

I am regularly flabbergasted by the number of professional people I interact with who think it is okay to just miss meetings and/or deadlines as it suits them. This is especially true when it come to philanthropic or voluntary responsibilities. I do my best to give people the benefit of the doubt and understand that they can be stretched way too thin, but after awhile, why should this be anyone’s problem but their own. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? We are all busy. We are all striving to find work-life balance. Life is about making choices and establishing priorities.

Daily Leadership Thought #174 – Success Is Open To Interpretation

In small business settings once you get past the obvious knowledge and competency screens, success decisions are most often a matter of personal choice.

Daily Leadership Thought #73 – 7 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Making Any Big Life Decisions

In business and in life it’s very important to know who you truly are before you attempt anything dramatic. There are so many messages out there telling us who we ought to be that we sometimes get caught up in a web of self-deceit because that’s what we think we should be doing.

Leadership Thought #210 – What Are Your Outlets in Life?

In the hustle and bustle of everyday living it’s important to have things you do just for yourself. We all need outlets for our mental, physical and emotional stress and catalysts for our personal well-being. We also need to remember not to wander too far away from our true self. It’s easy to lose your individuality and identity as you age and take on additional responsibilities in life. There are many times where there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day. We spend so much time doing what we have to do or think we should be doing that there is very little time to decompress and just be ourselves. Then one day we wake up and wonder what happened.

Leadership Thought #206 – Be A Non-Conformist When It Comes To Leading A Meaningful Life

When it comes to your life I highly encourage you to be a non-conformist. Carve out your own path. Worry less about what other people think and more about living a meaningful life – whatever that means to you. Too many people simply plug into a system. They do what they think they are supposed to do without regard for how it makes them feel. They are also constantly bombarded with messages praising consumerism and the belief that acquisition of material goods will be their just reward and make them happier. Unfortunately, life doesn’t really work out this way.

Leadership Thought #205 – The Importance of New Beginnings

I’ve always like the idea of new beginnings. My mom used to say that every person has 4 seasons to their lives and each one is an opportunity to reinvent yourself and use the wisdom gained up until that point to make better decisions. As I age, I understand more of what she meant. I also believe that within these seasons there are natural changes such as completing your schooling, getting married (maybe more than once), having kids, becoming a homeowner, embarking on a career, being at the peak of your career and having responsibility for other people, caring for aging parents, having your own kids move out and start their own lives, becoming a grandparent, retirement from work and navigating our “golden years” that just seem to happen and lead to new beginnings. I do respect the fact that not everyone opts for all these changes but for the most part they are common experiences shared by most of us.

Leadership Thought #204 – Your Business GPA

…the ultimate goal of any business should be to have high quality employees who are focused on providing value-added services to a loyal and growing client base in an efficient and profitable manner.